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& The Southern Cross, Page 2 Father Jerzy POPIELUSZKO’S CAUSE BEGUN A Polish church spokesman has said the initial stage of the beatification process for Polish Father Jerzy Popieluszko has been completed. The priest, considered a martyr by many, was abducted and killed by communist agents in 1984. U.S. BISHOPS TO VOTE ON ADULT FAITH FORMATION DOCUMENT Washington (CNS) T he U.S. Catholic bishops are to vote on a pastoral plan for adult faith formation during their meeting in Washington November 15-18. The 133-page document titled “Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us” stresses ongoing formation to help adult Catholics make their faith stronger and more mature. Last November when the document was presented to the bishops for com ments, some bishops said the docu ment needed a stronger focus on spir ituality, prayer and Scripture, instead of the strong emphasis on parish- focused activities. Pope urges peace in Chechnya Vatican City (CNS) A s Russia’s military continued its artillery and bombing attacks on towns in Chechnya, Pope John Paul II expressed his hopes for a speedy peace. The pope and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov met October 25 at the Vatican as Russia continued an almost monthlong campaign in Chechnya, claiming that Islamic ter rorists from the breakaway republic were responsible for a series of bombings earlier in Moscow. A Vatican statement said, “The hope that a rapid political solution to the conflict in Chechnya would be reached” was expressed during the pope’s meeting with Ivanov. Pay U.N. dues but not FOR ABORTIONS OVERSEAS, ARCHBISHOP SAYS Washington (CNS) U .S. foreign aid for fiscal 2000- 2001 should include payment of back dues to the United Nations, but no funds for organizations that vio late foreign countries’ abortion laws, according to the head of the U.S. bishops’ International Policy Committee. Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick of Newark, N.J., made the comment in a letter to the House- Senate conference committee work ing to resolve differences in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for the next two years. The archbish op expressed support for Senate lan guage authorizing $926 million over the next three years for payment of arrears to the United Nations. Doctors join campaign TO MAKE HEALTH CARE NATIONAL PRIORITY Vatican City (CNS) A n association representing more than 115,000 doctors of internal medicine has joined the efforts of the Catholic Health Association to make accessible and affordable health care a national priority. The American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine an nounced its involvement in the “Be Heard for Accessible and Affordable Health Care” initiative October 25. The grass-roots campaign urges Americans to sign a petition asking national leaders to put health care at the top of the American agenda. To date, there have been requests for more than 90,000 petition forms. Bishops’ statement will ASK FOR JUBILEE PLEDGE TO CHARITY Washington (CNS) A pastoral message for considera tion by the U.S. bishops in November asks American Catholics to make a jubilee commitment to charity, justice and peace. The state ment, “In All Things Charity: A Pastoral Challenge for the New Millennium,” will be considered dur ing the bishops’ annual fall meeting November 15-18. The pledge is quite short, but in leading up to its call to Catholics, the draft statement touches on some of the problems in need of charitable response. Plaque honors Knights FOR HELPING BUY BUILD ING FOR U.N. MISSION New York (CNS) T he Knights of Columbus were recognized for their help in buy ing a building for the Vatican’s U.N. mission with the unveiling of a plaque in the mission's entryway. “This building was acquired through the special generosity of the Knights of Columbus as a gift to His Holiness Pope John Paul 11 as a means of assisting him in calling the family of nations to walk together on the path to peace,” the plaque reads. The building, a renovated, six-story townhouse within walking distance of U.N. headquarters in Manhattan, was purchased in 1994 for $3 million, including a loan of $2 million from the Knights. Impact of pope’s Cuba TRIP ON CHURCH HAS NOT FADED, SAYS CARDINAL San Francisco (CNS) T he impact of Pope John Paul II’s 1998 historic visit to Cuba has not diminished but “emerges like a corpus of doctrine and action,” said the cardinal of Havana. The effect of the visit has been “sort of an ‘encyclical for Cuba’,” Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino told partici pants at an October 24 convocation Thursday, November 4, 1999 held at the University of San Francisco to honor him. The pope created an “unexplainable atmos phere” among the Cuban people and left behind “a dynamic and accurate project for the future,” the cardinal said in his Spanish-language address following his reception of an hon orary doctorate of humane letters. New Web site DOCUMENTS PERSECUTION OF CHURCH IN CHINA New York (CNS) A group of New York Catholics has started a Web site detailing religious persecution in China, which includes a video and photos of the destruction of a Catholic church. The Web site at www.freechurchforchi- na.org opened Sept. 15 and has been receiving five hits per minute, according to Ann Noonan, a founder of the site and New York coordinator of the Laoghai Research Center. The centerpiece is video footage of the destruction of St. Joseph's Church near Fuzhou in southwest China, which was built several years ago with $250,000 raised by Chinese Catholics in the New York metropoli tan area. House bill on pain con trol, ASSISTED SUICIDE A ‘TURNING POINT’ Washington (CNS) H ouse passage of a bill that would forbid the use of federally con trolled drugs for assisted suicide “should mark a turning point in our nation's efforts to promote the com fort and dignity of seriously ill patients,” said the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. After a sometimes heated debate Oct. 27, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the legisla tion that would improve pain man agement and effectively end assisted suicide in Oregon, the only state that has legalized it. The Si out (LISPS 505 680) Deadline: All material for publication on Publisher: Thursday must be received at the latest by noon Most Rev. J. Kevin Boland, D.D. on the previous Friday. POSTMASTER: Director of Communications: Send Change of Address to circulation office: Mrs. Barbara D. King Chalker Publishing |( c P a )| Editor: Southern Cross Subscription Department P. O. Box 948 ^fss ^ R ev Douglas K. Clark, S.T.L. Waynesboro, GA 30830 Subscription Price: $15 per year Editorial and Business Office: Periodicals Postage Paid Catholic Pastoral Center at Waynesboro, GA 30830 601 E. Liberty Street Published weekly except the second and last Savannah, GA 31401-5196 weeks in June, July and August and the last week (912) 238-2320 in December. FAX: (912) 238-2339 At 601 E. 6 ,h Street E-mail: DCIark5735@aol.com Waynesboro, GA 30830 Internet Home Page: http://www.dioceseofsavannah.org You \e lived your life together ...don't plan your funeral alone Call us today about our funeral planning program (706) 722-7744 FUNERAL HOMES 529 Greene Saint (706) 722-7744 3465 Peach Orchard Rd. (706) 798-8886 Augusta 3686 Wheeler Rd. (706) 860-0009